This situation arises a month after the exchange’s moratorium period under the Singapore court concluded. Before the cyberattack in July 2024, which targeted one of its multisig wallets, WazirX was the largest crypto exchange in India, serving approximately 33% of Indian crypto users who held either balances or accounts with the platform.
The exchange lost nearly 45% of its crypto assets due to this hack.
Approval of the long-awaited restructuring plan was essential for rebalancing tokens, potentially enabling affected users to reclaim up to 85% of their losses from the initial phase.
In an announcement on X, WazirX stated, “The Honourable Singapore High Court issued an order declining to approve our proposed restructuring plan. While this outcome was not anticipated, we respect the Court’s decision and remain fully committed to adhering to all legal and regulatory processes.”
“Our main priority is to initiate distributions as soon as possible. To achieve this, we are currently assessing all legal options in consultation with our legal and advisory teams and will be appealing the decision of the Singapore High Court,” it added.
The exchange emphasized that the ruling does not affect its NLPA (Net Liquid Platform Assets), which remain secure.
In the meantime, various media sources indicated that the exchange had transferred its parent entity from Singapore to Panama and rebranded as Zensui. These reports suggest a strategy to navigate the ongoing crackdown on crypto exchanges in Singapore that offer services without a license.
WazirX operates through two entities: a parent company, Zettai Pte in Singapore, and Zanmai Labs in India.
A source close to the situation informed Moneycontrol that the exchange has not executed such a move. “Shifting to Panama was one of the strategies being considered in our ongoing plans. It’s an alternative option, but no such relocation has occurred thus far,” the source stated.
The source further noted, “WazirX is still awaiting the final court order. The current decision stemmed from confusion over why Zanmai was not registered with the Financial Intelligence Unit-India (FIU-Ind). However, Zanmai is indeed registered in India. The exchange is in the process of preparing its next appeal.”
